Pair may have been up the creek without a permit

Two adventurers rescued by a media helicopter yesterday having been stranded on Lake Eyre now face $1000 fines.

Ben Kozel, 30, and Tim Jarvis, 35, had refused police help.

The pair are believed to have been without the required permits to enter the area, 150 kilometres north-west of William Creek, in South Australia's far north. They face fines from the state's Environment and Heritage Department.

"They could receive an expiation notice and fines ranging from $160 through to a maximum of $1000," a department spokesman said yesterday.

"It's too early to say what action, if any, will be taken against them until we talk to them but we want to confirm whether they had a permit or not."

Mr Kozel and Mr Jarvis had planned to canoe down Warburton Creek into the huge Lake Eyre and finish on the lake's south-western shores.

The famous lake - at 7884 square kilometres, Australia's largest - is usually parched but last month received a large amount of rainfall. The lake has filled to capacity three times in 150 years.

As Mr Kozel and Mr Jarvis tried to cross the lake on Sunday, water levels dropped and their canoes became stuck in the mud.

The adventurers initially asked to be rescued by police and an operation was planned for yesterday morning, but the rescue was called off when the pair decided to try and make their own way out, using skis.

Late yesterday, they were lifted off the saltpan on board a Channel Seven helicopter.

"Whether we could get down the creek was always an unknown," Mr Kovel told Channel Seven. "If we got to the mouth of the Warburton Creek and we could go no further then we get out and walk - that was the plan."

Mr Watkins said the canoeists appeared well prepared for their trip but came unstuck by not heeding advice from locals about the dangers and likelihood they would become stranded.

When rescued, Mr Kovel and Mr Jarvis had only 13 litres of water left to see them through in temperatures of 40 degrees.

They earlier tried to walk across the lake pulling a box containing water, a tent and food.

Sergeant Geoff Page of Oodnadatta police has called for regulations to prevent similar situations occurring again.

"I would probably be encouraging them [SA National Parks and Wildlife Service] to perhaps set some guidelines about what can and can't be done," Sergeant Page said.